Saturday, 11 April 2009

What shall we cook today? It seems that for most of us, a bit of our book obsession would carry over to the cookbook genre, so this week for Weekly Geeks, let's talk cookbooks! Here are some ideas to get you started:

--Describe your cookbook collection. How many cookbooks do you own? A lot? Just a few? None at all?

I have quite an extensive cook book collection, i photo the one closest to the stove – you can obviously see the fact that it is well used.

I love cooking and i am a by the seat of your pants sort of cook and can more or less create that one pot meal out of the bear minimum.

I try to find books that cover every different type of meal, so some Chinese, Italian, Caribbean and barbeque to name a few. I can’t imagine not having a whole lot of cook books around.

--Do you even buy cookbooks? Or do you gather family cookbook compilations and/or recipe files instead?

I have cook books passed down from great gran and so on, a few from friends a few pages of handwritten recipes that a neighbour might write for me, or my brother might annoy a chef to write for him..

I also buy cook book, as over the years cooking as branch out into the book industry big time and the recipes are more creative, more daring in terms of spices, cross culture and a little less informal than what i was brought up with.

--Do you like to collect certain types of cookbooks? Say, from certain chefs? From places you visit? From a particular food group or style?

No, not fussed about what the recipes are about or who writes them. As long the book lives up to what is advertising i am good.

I do however over the years have tried to build up a collection, where i have a book dealing with cooking from every part of the world.

--When buying cookbooks, what do you look for? Does it need to have pictures? Spiral binding? A specific type of font?

Once again i have books, with ring binding, normal bindings, recipes on scraps of paper. I even have one on the back of an envelope. One thing i have figured out is the older the book, the more in depth the books are liable to go into the care and handling of the ingredients – and give hints and tips about what work and what does not work together.

The more modern cookbooks are more about the display of the meal on paper, not that it isn’t pretty, but sometime a bit of info would be nice like what to do when you put too much salt in the pot.

--What is your favourite cookbook? Tell us the story behind it.

Two of my favourite books are

Land-o-lake Treasury of Country Recipes – My mum bought this book for me more than 15yrs ago – for two reason, One - it address all the finicky little things i don't like about cookbooks – so it had care and handling of foods, long term and short term storage, alternatives to ingredient and so on – you get the drift.

The second reason she bought this book – and mind you this is a good size book – she is a horrible cook, so the more info she gives me the less time she will have to put in, into the kitchen. It worked very well in her favour.

Time to Cook – Great Meals in 10,20 30 minutes – This book is my life saver, it is a ring binder book and i think almost every page is falling out. With my kids getting bigger and more demanding in the food department – this book has saved my bacons many a time.

With kids being the connoisseurs that they are, i needed a degree in finding the right mix to feeding them and this book was a blessing. Saw it being pimped in a super market and the seller swore by. She said to me “ I could not survive without this book” and 6 years later this book has lived up to it name.

--Tell us about your most well-used cookbook. Is it different from your favourite cookbook? Or are they one and the same?

They are one and the same. The only other one i use alot is my Caribbean book. Good book to have when you want to mix it up a little bit in the kitchen and when you want to do something different for the friends who comes around on a Sunday.

--Take a picture of your collection. How and where do you organize it?

4th shelf down are my cook book. They are mostly on that shelf and a few others scattered among other shelves around the house. I don’t have a organisation method to stacking them, as long a they are on the shelf and i know where they are when i want them i am good.

--Share a recipe from one of your favourite cookbooks. Include a picture if you can.

One of my favourite dish – Rice and Pea – this goes great with a curry or stew or any particular favourite of your. My family and i are either vegans or vegetarians, so lots of peas and bean, fish and so on.

The recipe

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

3 fresh thyme sprigs

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 cup long-grain white rice (such as jasmine)

1 (15-ounce) can dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Combine the first 7 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. Stir in rice; reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove pan from heat; remove the thyme sprigs and garlic, and discard. Gently stir in the beans. Cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Happy cooking!

17
Speak To Me:

I love to see what other kinds of cookbooks people have and use over and over. Mine are spread out all over the house some in the kitchen, some in the basement on a shelp, and I also have about 20 years of back issues of Gourmet and Bon Appetit, which I use more than cookbooks. But, if I had a favorite cookbook that I use a lot it's a real old one that's been in my family, The Wise Encyclopedia of Cooking. My grandfather was the publisher, and some of my grandmother's recipes are in it. It's a great cookbook if you can find it! Whenever I need that old recipe that I remember from growing up or my mother used to make, she tells me, "look in the Wise Cookbook, you'll find it there."

AWesome collection and I loved reading your views. I have a wonderful Womens Institute book from my mum that goes into all the basic info. It's incredibly helpful in deciphering some of the terms used in other cookbooks.

Love seeing your collection! It sure is nice to have a couple of tried & true dependable cookbooks around isn't it? Your rice dish recipe looks yummy and I may just need try it next week. *smiles and happy cooking*Kim

I have a couple of hundred cookbooks. The funny thing is I rarely cook anymore. Right now nearly all of them are boxed up and in storage. If I were to select a dozen, most would be Taste of Home books. I also have a couple of boxes of clippings of recipes. Usually now, if I want to try a new recipe, I go to recipezaar and do a search. Then I look for the best rated recipe and read all of the comments.

When I find a recipe the family enjoys, I transfer it in to MasterCook my computer reciped database.

Great recipe and collection. Thanks! I also love that you admit that you fly by the seat of your pants sometimes while cooking. So fun to take a recipe as inspiration rather than play-by-play instruction.

EH,Love your post! It also reminded me how poorly I followed directions. lol I'll have to ask you more about cookbooks and favorite dishes. One of my Color Online girls is trying to eat healthier and she's looking for good vegetarian foods and dishes. Could I put her in touch with you?